Automobile-wheel.



E. K. BAKER.

AUTOMOBILE WHEEL APPLICATION FILED JAN.10, 191s.

1?@955776, Patented May 5, 1914.

A ma lao ERLE 1K. BAKER, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNQR TO UNIVERSAL 'Rm COMPANY, 0F CHICAGU, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

AUTOMOBILE-WHEEL.

Specication of Letters Patent.

10, 1913. Serial No. 741,299.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERLE K. BAKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile-Wheels, of which the following is a full, true, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in automobile wheels and demountable tire rims therefor.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 607,997, filed February 11,1911.

The objects of my invention are to improve the construction, simplify the operation and lessen the cost of automobile wheels and demountable rims of the kind in which the rim is larger than the wheel and is demountably secured thereon by a number of clamping devices in the nature of wedges operating between the wheel and the rim.

A special object of my invention 1s to provide an automobile wheel and rim of such construction that the rim shall be automatically centered upon the wheel when placed thereon and to reduce the number of parts which it is necessary to operate and manipulate at times of mounting and demounting the rim, while at the same time providing the rim with a suiiiciently large number of points of support upon the wheel to prevent detrimental distortion or bending of the rim by said clamping devices or by road shocks received while the wheel is in use.

My invention consists in the improvements hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims and wherein and whereby the foregoing objects are attained.

My invention will be more readily under` stood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and wherein I have illustrated two forms of my invention.

In the drawings, Figure l isa side elevation of an automobile wheel and de mountable rimv embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view thereofr on the line 2 2 of Fig. I; Fig. 3 is a similarly enlarged cross section of the wheel and' rim on the line 3-3 of Fig. l disclosing the supporting studs or projections; and, Fig. 4 is a similar cross section illustrating a modiemploy.

As shown in the drawings, an automobile wheel generally comprises a hub 3, spokes 4, a wooden felly 5, and its metal felly band 6. In said drawings 7 illustrates .or represents the tire rim carrying a pneumatic tire 8. Such rims are characterized by a substantially cylindrical body portion 7 and upwardly and outwardly flared edge portions 7 terminating in flanges conformed to the tire. It should be understood that the rim 7 is either an endless rim or ring, or if of the transversely split type has its ends metallically secured or tied together to prevent its expansion by the clamping force of the wedges. I have herein shown a split rim of the kind which is described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 606,992, filed February 6, 1911, in which the metallic bond between the ends of the split rnn comprlses a 'plate 7a and studs or projections :7b. The 4valve stem 8El passes through this plate. The studs 7b enter holes 5 in the felly and constitute a driver between the wheel and the rim by which the rim is prevented from slipping or creeping on the wheel. In practice such rims are made of a size to conform to the tire to be carried thereby, whereas the wheel periphery or band is of smaller circumference. In

L onirica. A 5

fied form of felly band which Il sometimes Patented May 5, 19rd. Original application led February 11, 1911. Serial No. 607,997. Divided and this application led .Tanuam'l consequence an annular space 9 is left be- 4 the wheel, rllue wordsinner side-as here used, mean the side toward the body of the automobile. To support the outer side of the rim upon the wheel, and to approximately center it thereon, and to secure it in place upon the wheel it has been'customary to use a large number of clamping wedges, like unto the wedge lugs 10, bolted or screwed upon the wheel felly and having points or ends occupying saidannular space, on the outer side of the wheel. A. serious objection to such arrangement is that the unequal tightening of the clamping wedges throws the rim out of concentricity with the wheel and out of the plane of the wheel. so that the rim isy given an irregular and non-circular form and the tire is caused to vvabble as the wheel revolves which detects result in undue wear upon the tire and ob jectionable vibration Furthermore, the clamping devices employed are expensive and it is obvious that the time required to mount or demount a rim which is held by such devices is directly proportional to the number thereof and that the chances ot losing parts thereof likewise increase with their number. l have been able to overcome all ot these objections by means of the improvements disclosed in and suggested by the accompanying drawings.

Referring again to the drawings it will be seen that the wedge portions l0 ot' the clamping devices l0 enter the annular space 9, 'lhey are operated by screw bolts 11 and co-acting with the ilange t they serve to put the rim under tension upon the wheel and hold it against lateral movement thereon. As intimated l use fewer of these clamping devices with the object oit reducing the nur ber ot points at which the structure must be manually operated ,or manipulated to clamp and unclamp the demountalole rim. Each clampin device l0 consists of a wedge shaped block avin a toe or point portion 10 adapted to be orced into the annular space 9 and having its out-er tace 10b conformed to the beveled portion 7 ot the rim. As here shown the wedging bloclrs force the rim against thetlange 6 and by reason ot their beveled faces and that ot the flange 6', an expanding or distending pressure is applied to the rim. rlhus the rim is firmly seated upon the wheel with the wedges 10l restingl upon the :telly band to take the lateral strains and help support the rim. For the purpose of obtaining the torce necessary to actuate the wedging members, l provide each of them with a bolt 1l which extends through a hole l()c in the shank l()d of the wedging block l() and works in a nut 12, fixed on the inner side ot the wheel. To facilitate the removal of the wedges l employ an inner shoulder or backing sleeve i3 on the bolt. rll`his construction of the wein-c lug. as disclosed in big. 2' and char'- actcrized by the bolt l1, the sleeve 13 and nut 12, is not claimed in this application but is specifically described and is claimed in my co-pending application, Serial No. (ascissa, and July .si-d. 191i.

'l`o properly center the rim upon the wheel when it is first placed thereon and to support the .several arcs of the rim between the widely separated clamping devices l employ a structure or structures by which the rim-and the wheel periphery are placed substantially in metallic contact at points intermediate the several clamping devices, yet not so tightly as to prevent the easy mountin and demounting of the rim. I accomplish this eiect by providing the felly band noesgvve with fixed metallic studs or projections 18 or 19 as indicated in the drawing. l preferably distribute them circumterentially intermediate of the clamping members, which are preferably spaced around the wheel telly at equal distances `from each other. As many of the spacers as desired may be used and they may be disposed in any suitable manner around the wheel. These projections or studs support the portions ot the rim intermediate oit the clamping devices and tor supporting the rim and preventing1 its distortion they are as eective as the clamping,l wedges and they add no appreciable cost or weightto the wheel. f llhus a minimum number ot wedge lugs l0 may be Y used with as many projections or spacers as are necessary to adequatelypreserve the cirvcularity ot the rim. These spacers may consist ot broadly tapered heads, studs or projections on the telly band such as i8 in Fig. 3, or they may be given the term of elongated studs or ribs 19 as shown in lig. l and secured in any suitable manner to the rim or telly. lit is evident that the shape, number and the distribution ot these centeringv and supporting studs with respect to the fastening members or wedge lugs is de# termined by the particular condition to be met. lin advantage which l gain in placing the studs at the outer side oit the central plane of the rim and wheel, as in Fig. 3, is that they are very edective in coperating with the wedgelug's, Jfor thus the rim is supported in substantially both ot its side planes, a'. e. by the ange b on one side and by the lugs and the spacers on the other side. rlhese spacers do not require any manipulation whatever in assembling or disassembling the rim and wheel, and in addition to this advantage they materially assist in the assembling operatlon, particularly if they are beveled or tapered, as indicated in the drawings. l have also found it desirable to make the spacers several thousandths ot an inch shorter than the depth of the annular space 9, so that the rim will go on the wheel easily. This difference, however, is negligi-y ble in its edect on the circularity ot the rim.

HavingF thus described my invention l claim as new and desi-re to secure by Letters Patent: l v

l. The combination ot an automobile wheel and a demountable rim with a driver joining said rim and wheel, clamping lugs circumterentially spaced about said wheel and presenting wedge portions between said rim and wheel, clamping bolts therefor, and

the periphery of the wheel being formed tov provide circumferentially spaced oints ot supporting contact for the body o the rim, between the several clamping lugs, substantially as and for the purposes specied.

2. 'llhe combination of an automobile wheel and a demountable rim with a driver lli dll

ico

lio

ieeeme joining said rim and wheel, clamping lugs circumferentially spaced about said wheel riphery of the wheel eireumferentially between the several clamping lugs, substantially as and for the purposes specied.

3. The combination of `an automobile wheel and a demountable rirn with a driver joining said rim and wheel'clamping lugs circuniferentially spaced about said wheel and presentii'ig'wedge portions between said rim and wheel, clamping bolts therefor, and

f rim contacting beveled projections fixed on the periphery of the wheel oircumferentially between the several clamping lugs, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. The combination of an automobile Wheel and ademountable rim with a driver joining said rim and wheel, clamping lugs circuniferentially spaced about said wheel and presenting wedge portions between said rim and wheel, clamping bolts therefor, and riin contacting projections fixed on the periphery of the wheel circumferentially between the several clamping lugs and adjacent to the outer side of the wheel, substan' tially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 8th day of January, 1913, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ERLE K. BAKER.

Witnesses:

L. A. PLoGon, M. SIMON. 

